Laika to End Management of Andorra's Cat Protection Centre by Year-End
The animal welfare group cited operational restrictions preventing it from housing rescued cats beyond abandoned ones, opting to refocus on its core mission after a contentious tenure marked by underfunding disputes.
Key Points
- Laika to end management of Andorra's Cat Protection Centre by year-end 2025 due to operational restrictions.
- Decision allows refocus on core mission of caring for rescued cats, not just abandoned ones.
- Tenure since 2020 marked by underfunding disputes and contentious relations with authorities.
- CPF ended 2025 with 47 adoptions and 30 cats awaiting adoption; new tender planned for 2026.
Laika, the organization that has managed Andorra's Centre de Protecció de Felins (CPF) in Borda Vidal, Sant Julià de Lòria, since 2020, will end its concession at the close of this year after notifying authorities of its resignation late last year.
The association explained that the decision allows it to refocus solely on its core role as an animal protection group, caring for rescued cats. Laika noted that the public facility's primary function as a "fourrière"—handling only abandoned or surrendered animals—restricts its ability to house rescues, such as kittens or cats not immediately available for adoption. An initial plan to step down on 30 April 2026 has been extended by mutual agreement with the government to avoid an abrupt transition, with the handover now set for year-end while a replacement is secured.
The Department of Agriculture and Livestock's 2025 annual report described the relationship with Laika as "extremely complex and often even contentious," though current ties remain cordial. The national public tender for the CPF management was awarded to Laika at the end of August 2020, with keys handed over on 17 September that year. Laika then operated the cat shelter independently, while GosSOS managed the adjacent Centre de Protecció de Canins (CPC).
Early tensions arose in 2021, including complaints from animal welfare groups about the facilities' degradation, a letter from Laika's board to the head of government over chronic underfunding, and internal ministry demands for technical compliance and protocol updates.
The CPF closed 2025 with 30 cats still in care awaiting adoption, after 47 successful adoptions that year. By contrast, the GosSOS-run CPC recorded 68 dog intakes: 43 from private owners, 12 roadside abandonments, and 13 lost animals returned to owners.
Department-wide animal welfare activities in 2025 processed 12 formal complaints about dogs in private homes, alongside roughly 2,800 public inquiries and complaints—about 10 daily—from citizens, associations, vets, and communes. Efforts also included two adoption and responsible mountain behaviour campaigns, Civil Protection collaboration, and training support for handlers of potentially dangerous dogs.
Authorities plan to launch a new tender for the CPF concession in 2026.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: